Trench machine



`lune 16, 1925.

W. G. HUMPHREYS ET AL TRENCH MACHINE Filed Deo. 8, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet l llll June 16, 1925. 1,541,818

w. G. HUMPHREYS ET AL TRENCH MACHINE Filed Deo. 8, 1924 15 Shets-Sheet 2 w a c,

o 1 W19 is m VO Q le o albumi,

June 16, 1925.

1,541,818 w. G. HUMPHREYS ET AL TRENCH MACHI NE Fi ed De0 8, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 @muerde 1 1' -chiiies in present use,

Patented June 16, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,541,818 PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER G. HUHI'HBEYS AND OMAR B.. HUMPHREYS, 0F OIAHA, NEBRASKA.. TBENCH MACHINE.

Application tiled December 8, 1924. Serial llo. 754,00).

[o all whom it may cwicern:

Be it known that we, WALTER G. HUMPHiiiiYs and OMAR R. HUMPHREYS, citizens of the United States, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trench Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to trench machines, and more particularly to outriggers for machines of this character.

An object of this invention is to provide :i machine of this type which is narrow in construction so that it may be used in the filling of trenches which are frequently dug in narrow alleys or streets, or any narrow passageway, and which have been found too narrow for most of the trench filling mawhicli with a plurality of outriggers have been found impractical for this class of work.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine which is capable of straddliiig the trench to be filled, the scoop or shovel secured to the oiitri ger reciprocating across the path of the machine while the machine itself moves forwar This trench straddlin machine embodies the important feature oga single Outrigger projecting endwise from one side of the machine and at one side of the trench, permitting the boom to swing beyond the other side of the niachine and the trench to any desired distance within a relatively wide radius so that the machine is not restricted to use such as are those machines of the type where the scoop is operated between a pair of spaced outriggers. Thus, the present invention provides a machine which may be relatively narrow and which ma be operated in narrow spaces, such as al eys and the like, and which at the same time may be used to advantage where it is necessary to extend or carry a bucket laterally to a relatively great distance.y

A further object of this invention is to provide a trench filling machine with a single laterally offset Outrigger and a pivoted boom arranged so that the machine may be adapted for wide and narrow work in returning dirt to a trench wherein sewer pipe, drain-tile and the like has been laid, and where the earth from the trench has been either spread over a large area or piled up in a mound along one side of the trench.

The invention further aims to make the .improved machine useful for lill hereto.

symbols objects in In the drawings, wherein like refer to like or corresponding parts throughout .the several views,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a machine constructed according to the present invention.

2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the machine shown iii relation to a trench and mound of earth at the side thereof, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail cross section tikii through the machine on the line 4-4 o ig. 1. Referring more particularly to the drawings, 5 and 6 are the side railsl and 7 and 8 the end bars of an open rectan lar frame mounted on rear wheels 9 and ont wheels The front wheels 10 are journalled upon a cross axil 11 pivotally Secured by king bolt 12 to a bracket 13 dropped from the central portion of the end bar 8. Suitable mechanism is employed to turn the axil on the pivot 12, but, inasmuch as this forms no part of the invention, the illustration is omitted.

The rear wheels 9 are carried upon an axil 14 journalled in pillow blocks 15 secured beneath the side rails 5 and 6. Sprockets 16 are fast upon the axil 14 outside of the frame and are driven by chains 17 which extend to and about sprocket wheels 18 mounted on the opposite ends of a power shaft 19 journalled transversely in the frame and mounted in pillow blocks 20 secured to the upper sides of the rails 5 and 6. Shaft 19 carries a sprocket or pulley 21 over which passes a chain or belt 22 extending to an internal combustion engine or other suitable source of power which may be mounted on the frame.

The sprocket wheels 18 have toothed collars 23 which mesh at times with toothedl clutch collars 24 slidable upon .the shaft 19 so that they are enabled to shift back and forth in an axial direction, but are keyed to the shaft so as to be turned therewith. The clutch collars 24 may be shifted by any suitable clutch lever and are restrlcted in their outward movements by the heads 25. The shaft 19 also carries a pinion 26 meshing with a gear wheel 27 forming the outer member of a clutch having an internal face 28 to receive the complementally' formed edge of a flange 29 on one end of a drum 30 loosely mounted on a shaft 31 journalled transversely in the frame. The gear wheel 27 is held toward the drum by a collar 32, while the drum is retained against too great longitudinal shifting movement by a collar 33 on the opposite end portion o f the shaft 31. A lever 34 on the shaft 31 1s arranged to engage the drum 30 and advance 1t. toward the gear wheel 27 when 1t 1s desired to wind the cable 91. A

The shaft 19 carries beveled gear wheels 36 and 37 with opposed bevel faces, and are spaced apart to selectively receive a beveled inion 38 mounted on shaft 39 arranged ongitudinally in the frame with its remote end in a pillow block 40 and its rear end slidable in a slot 41 of a bracket 42 on the side rail 5. A lever 43 associated with the shaft 39 serves to shift it laterally to engage the pinion 38 with the gears 36 and 37. A worm 44 is mounted on shaft 39 and meshes with the peripheral teeth upon a rotary platform 45 adapted to turn on a vertical axis. A pin 46 passes through the center of the platform, and pivotally engages a beam 48 arranged beneath the table 45 and connected to the end bar 7 and to a substantially A-shaped frame 49 extending across the frame work forwardly of the platform 45.

The upper end of pm 46 has .a key 50 by which a yoke 51 of 1 boom 52 1 s secured to the pin. An extenslon 53 1s slldable 1n the outer end of the boom, and the two are provided with perforations 54 to receive a locking pin 55 to hold the extension when adjusted. The extension 53 has a head 56 with a pin 57 upon which is swivelly mounted a block 58 with a pulley 60 and over which passes a rope 61. The rope 61 leads to a pulley 62 pivoted upon the lower portion of the A-frame 49, the pulley being mounted on a vertical pin 63 carried in crossbraces 64 of the A-frame, and which is arranged above a drum 65 about which the cord 61 is wound.

The drum 65 is on a shaft 66 and has a gear wheel 67 at one end meshing with a pinion 68 on the shaft 19, the gear wheel 67 bein mounted similarly with the gear wheel 2 A lever 69 engages the free end of the drum to urge it toward the gear wheel 67. The head 56 of the boom is connected to a rod 70 secured to the pulley block 71, and a companion pulley block 7 2 is secured by a. connection 73 to a cross rod 74 in the top of the A-frame 49, the connection 73 being free to slide from side to side within the A-frame. A cord 75 is secured at one end to the block 72 and is passed back and forth between the pulley blocks 71 and 72 to provide a suitable tackle uvielding great leverage. The cord 75 extends from the block 7l over a pulley 77 carried on a bracket arm 78 bolted at 79 to the A-frame near its top. The cord 75 passes downwardly to a drum 80 having a handle 81 by means of which it may be turned. The drum 80 is on a shaft 82 supported in the A-frame 49, and teeth 83 are carried on one flange of the drum and cooperate with a pivoted dog 84 to avoid retrograde movement of the drum.

The shovel or scoop has a blade 85 with side arms 86 and braces 87 leadn from the side arms to the top of the blade 85. Perforations 88 in the braces 87 permit adjustment of the braces into different angles with respect to the blade 85. The cord 61 extends from the pulley 6() and is divided into branches 89 and 9() connected to the upper end corners of the blade 85, and a hauling rope 91 is secured at the point 92 to a plurality of strands which extend to the upper and lower edges and ends of the side arms 86. The rope 91 extends transversely of the path of the machine, and passes over a pulley 92 mounted in a block 93 pivoted on a rod 94 carried on the outer end of a fixed Outrigger 95.

The Outrigger 95 may be of any suitable rigid construction which projects in an endwise direction from the adjacent corner of the main frame and in the present instance comprises a bar secured by bolts 96 or the like to the end bar 7 of the frame, and which is reinforced by diagonal brace 97 which extends from an intermediate portion of the end bar 7 to the outer end of the Outrigger 95 to form a diagonal brace therefor, and a triangular struction therewith.

As shown to advantage in Fig. 1, this out,

rigger may be made of one piece strap iron which is suitably bent to provide a triangle whose base rests against the outer edge of tne rear cross bar 7 of the frame. This Outrigger may be secured to the opposite corner portion of the frame when it is desired to scoop or drag the. earth in the opposite direction.

The draft rope 91 passes through a pair of pulleys 98 mounted in a bracket 99 extending from the frame bar 7, and from these pulleys the draft ro e passes beneath the apparatus and to the rum 30.

From the above description it will be readily understood that the machine may be constructed with a narrow gage sufficient llt) only to straddle a rtrench or the like as shown in Fig. 3, and that the outrigger 95 is at one corner of the frame and may be inclined outwardly from said corner to a slight extent. The boom 52 with its eXtension may be of any practical length and may be swung to the opposite side of the frame to the desired distance, so that the shovel or scoop may be manipulated at a considerable distance beyond the side of the frame. For this reason but a single outrigger is used as the opposite of the frame is left entirely free and unobstructed for the wide sweeping action of the shovel or scoop to enable the same to drag earth from a distance into the trench. The machine is thus adapted for use in alleys and other narrow passageways, and may also be used without alteration or adjustment where a large and broad area is to be operated on.

The cable 61 is wound upon its drum to move the scoop outwardly across the path of the machine away from the Outrigger 95, while the cable 91 is operated or wound upon its drum to drag the scoop back across the path of the frame from a remote point.

I do not wish to be restricted to the size, form, and proportion of the various parts, and obviously changes could be made in the construction herein described without departing from the spirit of this invention, it being only necessary that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A trench filling machine comprising a frame adapted to straddle a trench, an outrigger secured to the frame and arranged to extend therefrom, a' scoop, a cable attached to the scoop and passing over the Outrigger for operating the scoop in one direction, a boom on the frame adapted for vertical adjustment, and a second cable connected to the scoop and to the boom for elevating the scoop and carrying it laterally away from said Outrigger.

2. A trench filling machine comprising a frame adapted to straddle a trench, an Outrigger projecting from one corner of the frame at one side of the trench, a boom mounted on the frame adapted to project laterally from the other side of the frame opposite the outrig er and to a point spaced beyond said side o? the frame, a scoop and cables carried upon the Outrigger and the boom and connected to said scoop for moving the same across the path of the frame and beyond one side thereof.

3. A trench filling machine comprising a frame adapted to straddle a trench, an Outrigger mounted upon one side of the frame and adapted to extend along one side of the trench, said frame having a free and uninterrupted opposite side portion terminating at the inner end of the Outrigger, a boom on the frame adapted to extend over said free end of the frame and beyond the side thereof, a scoop, a cable connected to the scoop and carried by the boom. for elevating the scoop and carrying it across said uninterrupted slde of the frame and beyond the same, and a second cable connected to the scoop and carried by the Outrigger for drawing the scoop inwardly into the path of the frame and across the trench.

4. A trench filling machine comprising a frame adapted to straddle a trench, an Outrigger interchangeably secured to the opposite side portions of the frame and arranged to extend forwardly from the same, a scoop, a cable attached to the scoop and passing over the Outrigger for operating the scoop in one direction, a boom on the frame arranged intermediate the side thereof1 and adapted for vertical adjustment, and a second cable connected to the scoop and to the boom for elevating the scoop and carrying it laterally awa from said Outrigger.

5. A trench lling machine comprising a frame, a boom mounted for vertical and lateral adjustment upon the frame, a pulley on the boom, a cable trained over the pulley, an Outrigger adjustably mounted on the frame in laterally spaced relation from the boom, a second pulley mounted on the outrigger, a second cable trained over the second pulley, a shovel connected at its opposite ends with said cables, and means on the frame for selectively operating the cables to reciprocate the shovel between the boom and the Outrigger.

6. A trench filling machine comprising a frame, a boom on the frame, a cable carried by the boom, a scoop suspended on the cable, a second cable leading from the scoop, and an outrigger adapted to receive said second cable, said Outrigger comprising a triangular body with a fiat base, and means for securing said base to one corner portion of the frame at the end thereof.

In testimony whereof, we have affixed our signatures in presence of two Witnesses.

WALTER G. HUMPHREYS. OMAR R. HUMPHREYS. Witnesses:

F. R. GILFA, ARTHUR H. STURGEB. 

